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iPhone 15 Reviews: A Major Upgrade for Standard Models

sleeptodream said:
After bashing these colors I caved and got a pink 15, partly for the color and curved front glass, but also after 2 years with Pro Max phones my wrists ache like all the time. I noticed when I would switch back to my previous normal-sized aluminum iphones the ache would go away after a few days. Maybe guys don’t have this problem? Maybe I need to get to the gym more often? 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’ll miss the 120hz display, but I think that’s all I’ll really miss about it
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People make gym jokes but phones really have gotten way too heavy. It does have an effect after a while too, I have the smaller 14 pro and my tendinitis flares up if I hold it too long. The 15 is seriously tempting me, it feels like a good compromise between comfort and features but I'm bummed there's no white option this year :(
 
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I have an iPhone 12 256 GB now. Am seriously contemplating getting the iPhone 15 Plus 512 GB but may hold off because with the iPhone 16, we may see a lot faster USB Type C port with USB 3.2 1x1 (5 gigabits per second) transfer speeds.
 
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Ac1d 8urn said:
People make gym jokes but phones really have gotten way too heavy. It does have an effect after a while too, I have the smaller 14 pro and my tendinitis flares up if I hold it too long. The 15 is seriously tempting me, it feels like a good compromise between comfort and features but I'm bummed there's no white option this year :(
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This is a good point. I'd not even thought about it...but in 2014 I suffered a biceps tendon rupture, and the reattachment recovery was pure hell. Nerve regeneration was not fun.

I mention this because I'm almost 100% sure that my left arm has a small partial biceps tendon rupture...because anytime I'm holding anything in my left hand, I can feel it hurting/pulling. Something as small as an iPhone 14 Pro doesn't *seem* heavy until you've been holding it for an hour, and my arm is on *FIRE* after holding that sucker for an hour.

I hear you on the gym jokes thing. I'm no stud muffin but I feel like if I can deadlift > 300# and bench >200#, I've earned the right to complain about my phone. 🤣
 
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Imo, only power-users, or tech-geeks need to buy a new iPhone sooner than every three years... at the minimum. Five years is probably better. I'm on Xs Max, and it still runs like butter and does everything any regular person would need.
 
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Sevendaymelee said:
Imo, only power-users, or tech-geeks need to buy a new iPhone sooner than every three years... at the minimum. Five years is probably better. I'm on Xs Max, and it still runs like butter and does everything any regular person would need.
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I'm upgrading from a refurb'd 8+... the last model I bought new was a 7+
 
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MacRumors said:


Apple's new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday, September 22. Ahead of time, the first reviews of the devices have been shared by select media outlets and YouTube channels.


iPhone-15-review-the–verge.jpeg


Image via The Verge​

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus offer a new design, the Dynamic Island, a USB-C port, the A16 Bionic chip, a 48-megapixel main camera, Smart HDR 5, Apple's second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for Precision Finding with Find My friends, and more.


Reviewers are generally in agreement that the iPhone 15 represents a significant update of Apple's standard iPhone models, sporting bigger and more useful upgrades than in many previous years. We've rounded up both written and video reviews of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus below.

Written Reviews

The iPhone 15 features a new design with contoured edges, frosted back glass, and the Dynamic Island. It is also available in a refreshed selection of color options, including Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink. Pocket-Lint's Britta O'Boyle on the iPhone 15's revamped design:



The Verge's Dan Seifert on the iPhone 15's USB-C port, which is limited to USB 2.0 speeds, just like the Lightning connector:



MobileSyrup's Patrick O'Rourke on the A16 Bionic chip, first introduced in last year's iPhone 14 Pro models:It’s important to note that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus feature the same A16 Bionic chip as the iPhone 14 line. It looks like this is Apple’s new cadence of release; the top-tier phone features the high-end chip, while the base-level device gets last year’s processor. Does this matter anymore when Apple’s chips are so far ahead of the competition? It doesn’t, and at this point, Apple knows it.

[...]

During my time with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, I didn't encounter any slowdown, whether I was running high-end apps or being an internet power user in Firefox. Would I prefer Apple to stick with including its most powerful chip in all of its new smartphones? Definitely, especially as the promise of console-level gaming lo... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: iPhone 15 Reviews: A Major Upgrade for Standard Models
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at $200 less than the equivalent Pro's, they're still poor value for money.
The 48 pixel main camera is the poor cousin of the Pro 48 pixel camera
 
mpavilion said:
The regular models have dynamic island too. 120hz would be nice, but I'm not spending $300 more for it and lugging around a heavier phone! Seems weird for you to promote the Pros so heavily... folks buying the regular models know what they're doing. ;)
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Maybe Not?
The difference between the equivalent models is $200 😊
 
Lounge vibes 05 said:
you are literally just incorrect about this.
When Apple dropped the 14+, literally one of its biggest benefits was that it was lighter, and reviewers were very quick to point it out.
Also, there have been complaints about the iPhones getting “hefty and bulky” since at least the XS Max, but especially after the 12 pro series.
But also, for some of these reviewers, two things can be true at the same time.
They can think the 14 Pro wasn’t that heavy, while also admitting that the weight improvements of the 15 series are nice to have.
My opinions have changed with time as well, when I got my 12 mini I absolutely loved everything about it, it’s absolutely perfect design, and could barely tell a battery life difference between it and the 11.
A couple months later and I was already sick of its tiny battery and it’s constant cooling issues and several years later I totally understand why the Mini is gone.

That doesn’t mean that my initial impressions were lies.
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It's why it's always best to wait for the 3 month reviews, before deciding.....and you have to learn to read between the lines
 
zach-coleman said:
If it doesn’t lose any quality in the final image it’s not a crop. The camera only exports 24MP photos unless raw mode is turned on, so at those other resolutions no quality is lost, still 24MP.
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But it won't look the same as a real lens at that focal length*, plus there are still fewer pixels used from the sensor to make the resulting image, even if both are sort of downsampled to the same 24MP.

There is a HUGE difference in "portraits" taken at 24mm (noses exaggerated, for example) and those taken at 50mm or 85mm (a standard for portraits). Cropping in to a 24mm shot won't really fix that, unless maybe you got far away, and then you'd be cropping in beyond the point of not losing megapixels.
 
sw1tcher said:
Significant update? 🤣

It's like these "reviewers" must praise Apple/their products to stay in their good graces.
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USB-C alone is worth it for people with older models. With Apple you have to read the tea leaves, and this is a year to jump on if you’ve been holding out.

If you think this update was insignificant, you must have hardly even noticed last year. The 14 was absolutely treading water. Satellite was about it, marking the start of Apple’s ongoing “Buy an iPhone or Literally Die” campaign.

But yes the vast majority of reviewers are beyond transparent at this point. It’s like how no one really talked about how absolutely worthless autocorrect was until 17 came out, and now everyone can admit that it tried to mangle every sentence they ever wrote until they finally turned it off in exasperation.
 
CarAnalogy said:
USB-C alone is worth it for people with older models. With Apple you have to read the tea leaves, and this is a year to jump on if you’ve been holding out.
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I don’t get the USB-C hype. Do people traveling with multiple devices really only take one charger? I tend to charge mine overnight and always take at least 2 chargers with me anyway

The logistics of juggling charging a phone, watch, airpods, laptop/tablet, and say a Switch all with one charger sounds like a nightmare…

Do android users actually do this now with their superior USB-C phones? Seems like a hassle for how small and light chargers/cables are
 
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CarAnalogy said:
USB-C alone is worth it for people with older models. With Apple you have to read the tea leaves, and this is a year to jump on if you’ve been holding out.
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I don’t think any non tech nerd person cares about USB-C. They can’t live without their phone for most aspects of life, so they always have its charger on a trip. When the 15 starts hitting the mass market Friday and the average person who doesn’t follow tech news finds out the charger port is changed, I think it is much more likely they get mad they have to buy new cables to get a new phone.

This is not me saying it’s bad. I’m happy to only need two chargers on a trip instead of 3. (1 for phone, 1 shared by Mac and iPad) But for the layman who just wants the new iPhone…?
 
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Good improvements to the non Pro models this year. But colours could have been brighter
 
thiscatisfat said:
What new design? It's the same design as iPhone 12. And if you have an iPhone 12, you don't need to upgrade. If you have an iPhone 12 Mini, you don't even want to upgrade.

Sick of these huge phones. No reason to upgrade, at all. Phones became so boring, especially iPhones. So flat.
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I’ve got the 13 mini that I’m hanging onto for sure. The only new features of the 15 that I find compelling are: Dynamic Island (cool), Brighter display (from 800 to 1,000 peak brightness…..and now 2,000 peak outdoors), camera: now with 24 and 48mp super high resolution options (Would like to see a 13 vs 15 comparison of the camera).

That’s really it for me. USB-C would be more convenient…but I can deal with lightning. The A16 and ram bump (ie 4GB to 6GB) I’m sure would be faster, but I’m not finding the 13 mini to be sluggish at all.

Not sure we’re ever going to see another ”mini” sized iPhone….hope so! For now I’m sticking with the little guy:)
 
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thiscatisfat said:
What new design? It's the same design as iPhone 12. And if you have an iPhone 12, you don't need to upgrade. If you have an iPhone 12 Mini, you don't even want to upgrade.

Sick of these huge phones. No reason to upgrade, at all. Phones became so boring, especially iPhones. So flat.
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iPhone 12 was pretty crap tbh

And is even more so now
 
The specs are really good looking this year - but the colors... gross.

How is there no white or black option?
 
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